Weekend trip in the High Tatras, Slovakia

Visiting this gem of Slovakia at the beginning of the summer was a really nice experience for us. This trip was my birthday present from my boyfriend and in addition to that a new country for me what we visited together.

The Slovakian part of the High Tatras is only 400 km far away from Budapest, so it is an easy ride by car. We found an accommodation via Booking.com in this small town called Štrba for 2 nights. We went there for 3 days during a public holiday in Hungary. Let see the highlights of our brief visit!

Main sights in the High Tatras

1. Štrbské Pleso / Štrba Lake

The Štrba Lake is part of the Tatra National Park. The lake, the mountains and the environment were amazing as you can see on the pictures below. We have walked around the lake and experienced its enchanting atmosphere. Fortunately, we had a good breezy summer weather.

Many restaurants and coffee shops are located near to the lake, so it was a good chance to try the Slovakian cuisine as well. We spent there a good afternoon, and we purely enjoyed our free time together.

2. Lomnicky peak

The Lomnicky peak is the second highest point of the High Tatras. There are two ways of how to reach the peak.

One solution is to go up with comfortable cable cars. There are 4-person cable cars operate from the lower station in Tatranská Lomnica to mid-station Štart. From there a 15-person cable car continues to Skalnaté Pleso, which is also the interchange station to the journey to Mt. Lomnický štít. From the lake you can take a red suspension cable car to Lomnicky peak. (Source: vt.sk) Using cable car is very interesting and special way of travelling. The landscape was beautiful along the way up and down. (19 EUR return ticket until Skalnaté Pleso plus 24 EUR to the peak).

Second solution is to hike until Skalnaté Pleso and then take the red suspension car to the peak (24 EUR).

Unfortunately, we only went up until the upper station (Skalnaté Pleso) because there wasn't any sell-able ticket for the suspension cable car - it was sold out for the day. We suggest buying your ticket in advance to avoid any frustration.

3. Thermal Bath

Thermal bath is a good choice if you are tired from the hiking and would like to relax. We were at Vrbov thermal bath, but some parts of the outdoor parts were under construction. It was a strange feeling while you are trying to rest, the workers next to you working hard. Despite of the construction, we tried to enjoy and relax as much as we can.

4. Restaurants

Enjoy delicious local cuisine is always important for us during travelling (mainly because of my boyfriend)! Fortunately, we have found many good local restaurants where the food was really good.

We were eating a local dish like Sztrapacska at Koliba Žerucha Restaurant. It was so delicious; we highly recommend this place!

Strapačky

5. Waterfall - Cold Creek & Giant waterfall

Many waterfalls are located in the High Tatras, so it is highly recommended to visit them. We have been at Cold Creek (pictures below) and Giant waterfall, what you easily reach by funicular from the town of Tatranská Lomnica.

All in all, we loved this weekend trip as we saw many beautiful places, we ate delicious meals, and we could rest a little bit far away from noise of the big cities.